H E Amit Narang, Ambassador of India to Oman, showcases his photographic exploration of the avian treasure of Oman as a photo-blog titled ‘Winged Envoys of Oman’ to be launched at The Diplomatic Club today (January 15). Dispelling popular belief that birdwatching is a time-consuming, costly exercise restricted to specific sites, “it is actually a form of ‘ecological mindfulness’, of connecting with nature, in your own surroundings,” he tells Hubert Vaz in a free-wheeling chat at India House. Excerpts:
Indian roller
Tell us something about ‘Winged Envoys of Oman’
Over the past three years as India’s Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, I have spent some spare time in the mornings observing and photographing birds in the neighbourhood. Most of this has been in and around my residence near the Al Khuwayr beach in central Muscat. I have also taken some time off during my travels to the different parts of this beautiful country to look for resident and migrant birds and have been richly rewarded by interesting finds.
I have put my experiences together as a photo-blog titled ‘Winged Envoys of Oman’ [https://www.narangs.in/winged-envoys-oman]. This will be launched alongside an exhibition of some of my photographs at the Diplomatic Club of Oman today by H E Sheikh Khalifa al Harthy, Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the Foreign Ministry.
It is quite intriguing to note that a diplomat has time for birdwatching which is considered a time-consuming, costly exercise?
This is precisely what I have sought to demystify. Birdwatching is a hobby of discipline and birds anywhere in the world are active only a couple of hours into sunrise. But if you rise early, you need to spend just half an hour to watch the birds; so, this notion that birdwatching is a specialist task, you need a lot time and costly equipment on hand, is not true. You don’t need to go ‘somewhere’ to watch birds, you need to just open up your senses and be aware of their presence in your own surroundings. And you will be surely rewarded. I call this ‘ecological mindfulness’.
How did you get interested in capturing the winged beauties on camera?
Photography was my hobby since very early in my professional career. The quest for bird photography started sometime in March 2020 when I was in India during the COVID-19 induced lockdown. It all began when after having counted 10 species of birds casually while jogging, I challenged myself to find 20 and to photo-record them.
I surprised myself by finding over 25 species of birds quite nonchalantly within our residential complex. This led to a rabbit hole of discovery, learning and fun. The list kept growing as more and more avian wonders kept showing up, some on their way to Africa and some from Siberia. I eventually ended up with 79 distinct bird species in the collection, all without having to leave the green environs of Chanakyapuri – the leafy environs of Delhi’s diplomatic enclave in the heart of Delhi – where we lived at the time.
This photo-catalogue, which my wife Divya titled, ‘Winged Envoys of Chanakyapuri’ is available on the internet.
What insights did you draw from this project?
What I realised through this project is how utterly ignorant we are of our ecological surroundings. Most of us live in urban environments, alongside other living beings that share the same ecological space with us. This is especially true for our avian neighbours, who despite their startling diversity and obvious grace and beauty, live alongside us as though living in a parallel universe. We are, however, completely oblivious to their presence around us, our eyes wide shut to the sheer biodiversity hiding in plain sight all around us.
Crab plover
Such ignorance has implications. These winged wonders are nature’s envoys of grace, beauty and harmony. Birds are sensitive creatures, acutely susceptible to changes in ecology. They also treat the entire world as one connected ecosystem and often travel thousands of kilometres each year. Their presence or absence, therefore, is a good indication of the state of the environment around us. To be conscious about birds is to be conscious about the environment.
My project in Delhi, and its continuation here in Oman is, thus, not simply about birding or even about bird photography. In a wider sense, it is about ‘ecological mindfulness’, of being aware and conscious of nature all around us, and this has been an inherent trait in me, which expanded into a love for birds.
Can you elaborate on this ‘mindfulness’?
I think, that being aware of nature’s treasures around us and letting our inner selves appreciate and absorb their beauty and grace is the sort of mindfulness that is most needed in today’s headline-and-deadline-charged world. The mindfulness that can come with appreciating our avian neighbours can give us the inner energy to lead better, more harmonious and more productive, lives. Such awareness also helps inculcate a sense of connectedness with nature, especially important given the highly urban nature of modern living, and can also promote humility of being but one part of the rich ecosystem of nature. Such humility and awareness are crucial for us to preserve and protect nature and its biodiversity.
How many types of birds did you find in Oman?
Egyptian vulture
The Sultanate of Oman is a beautiful country with a wide variety of ecosystems, from vast deserts, high mountain ranges, stunning beaches, wetlands and also monsoon-drenched hills in the south. This varied landscape also means that there is a wide variety of birds that call Oman their home. What is more, Oman is also a key pitstop for long-range migration of birds, many of which travel thousands of kilometres each year from north Europe to Africa and back.
Bird-watching in Oman has therefore been a delight. I have, so far, recorded and photographed over 150 bird species, both resident as well as migrant.
Would you like to share any interesting experiences?
In line with the philosophy of ‘neighbourhood birding’, most of my bird photography has been in and around my residence inside the Embassy of India, located in central Muscat. The verdant campus of the embassy houses a number of resident bird species and the beach behind the diplomatic area attracts a large number of migrant visitors from afar. It has been very interesting to identify and photograph the resident and migrant species and to observe their behaviour with changing seasons.
The Indian roller is a particularly beautiful bird with its stunning shades of blue. It is a common resident bird in Oman and, on my blog, I have narrated the story of an Indian roller who became a friend and used to have breakfast with us.
The Eurasian nightjar is one of the most masterfully camouflaged birds that is rarely seen by chance. It was a thrilling experience to find it sitting on the driveway one evening.
I have enjoyed observing the astonishingly beautiful African paradise flycatcher in the ayns and wadis of Salalah. Also, in Masirah island, finding two rare migrant birds – brown noddy and Wilson’s storm petrel – both of which come to Oman from across the southern Indian ocean, was another memorable experience.
Are you also interested in wildlife photography or just birds?
While my primary interest is in birds, nature is one single continuum. When you go out birding, you also come across other living creatures, often when you are least expecting them. In Oman for example, it was quite thrilling to come across the Arabian red fox, a reclusive animal as also the Arabian chameleon.
What lessons about life have you learnt from this hobby?
I’d say, a hobby like this in today’s world, where you keep chasing deadlines, keeps one grounded. It is important to have a hobby that is productive and intellectually challenging. Birding leads one to research and studies, and it opens up a whole new world to you. That is a very productive use of your spare time.
Have there been any frustrating moments?
Birdwatching teaches you that you are not in control. Birds do not follow your commands and you realise that nature is bigger than you and you need to be respectful of the environment. If you go to a spot to see a particular bird and it does not turn up, it is not a disappointment, it’s part of the bird’s movement…it has happened many times, and it teaches one patience.
After Winged Envoys of Chanakyapuri and Winged Envoys of Oman, is there scope to continue the series?
Hopefully. That was the idea, when I started out in Delhi. Chanakyapuri is an abode of diplomats and I managed to capture and document 79 birds living within one square kilometre of this area – some of them very rare, like the Siberian stonechat, which comes all the way from Russia, or the paradise flycatcher. I will soon be moving to Slovenia, where I hope to continue my discoveries into a new series.
Arrivals at India House
Which are the most common birds you captured around your official residence in Al Khuwayr?
The India House complex regularly sees around 15-20 birds which I would call ‘residents’ as they are seen all year round – from the house sparrow, myna, crow and Indian roller to the Indian silverbill, purple sunbird, laughing dove, three kinds of bulbuls etc. These birds live on campus but some turn up occasionally, like the white and yellow wagtails which come from Europe. Also, there is a water bird called whimbrel which comes to India House every winter, besides the red-wattled lapwing, the grey francolin and the hoopoe, which is a stunning migratory bird currently seen on campus.
